Advice please on Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM

[Guest]

At the end of next month,I'll be going to the Malvern Autumn Show.Having been last year,I know there will be plenty of opportunities to use a long lens,along with my current ones.

You'll be aware I recently hired the 100-400mm L,which was fine,but I'm now thinking of hiring the updated version as above.It's more expensive,but some of the reviews say it gives noticeably sharper results than the original lens.Also I think the twist zoom will be better to use than push-pull.

I was wondering if anyone here has this lens,and if they think it will be an improvement,and therefore worth the additional rental cost?Or shall I just get the Mark 1 version as before?

I intend to use it indoors for shots of the various presenters on the stage,and also outdoors at the main arena and for some candid shots.

All advice will,as always,be gratefully received thanks.

[ctrollen]

Re: Advice please on Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM

I upgraded from the mk1 to the mk2 last year and the mk2 is definitely a better lens all round. However, the reasons I used to justify to myself a large outlay will not necessarily be relevant to you. So why did I do it?

1. After reading reviews (probably the same ones that that you have read!) the faster AF was a bigger seller for me than the better IQ. Is the IQ better? Sure. Do I notice it in every shot? Perhaps not. But I do have more "keepers" due to the faster AF.

2. The push-pull was absolutely fine for when I wanted to set a particular focal length and keep it there, such as shooting mainly static birds from a hide but I didn't quite gel with it for changing focal length whilst panning, such as when following birds in flight or aircraft at air-shows. The twist of the mk2 is more intuitive to me as that's what I've always had.

3. And this was the main one. I wanted to increase the focal length with a tele-converter. The combo of 80D, 100-400 II and 1.4x III TC allows 9 active auto-focus points so this had long been my wish-list. I use this set-up more often than I don't!

Having said that, in the circumstances in which you would be using it, with what I would guess would be mainly static subjects, I'm not convinced you'd reap that much in extra benefits - certainly not the ones that convinced me to upgrade. It depends on what the extra cost is over the mk1 as to whether you think it's worth it.

I hope this post helps you with your decision, though. And whichever lens you end up getting, have fun!

[TonyT]

Re: Advice please on Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM

I found the mk 1 faster to use as in zooming, though there was the chance you would overshoot your desired zoom and have to correct.
I own both, but the focal points are not an issue on the 1DX so I cannot comment on those, to be honest I do not see much difference in image quality.

[Guest]

Re: Advice please on Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM

Thanks Chris and Tony,

I will go with the mk1 I think,I got on ok with it recently,and didn't find the push-pull difficult to use.I don't envisage doing any panning shots at the show,just statics,and so the extra £30 for hiring a mk2 won't be worth it.

I got lots of keepers with the mk1,mainly from the outdoor theatre event that I went to,and know that it's brilliant for candid shots.

[the black fox]

Re: Advice please on Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM

have you thought about hiring a super zoom instead , as much as it pains me to say it the tamron 150-600 G is pulling in some spectacular shots and that saves worrying about a t.c

[Guest]

Re: Advice please on Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM

Not really,I know that the 100-400 is capable of doing what I'll need on the day.


At the Showground where the event is held,I wouldn't need 600mm(960mm on my crop sensor.)
Plus I've got no way of carrying it around,the other one fits nicely in the top half of my camera rucksack,which I bought specifically to hold the 100-400, whereas the Tamron wouldn't.

Thanks for your input though.

[TonyT]

Re: Advice please on Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM

If you ever decide to purchase a mk1 in the future, I would consider selling mine as it never gets used these days. Most of my Bempton shots BTW were taken with the Mk2

[Guest]

Re: Advice please on Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 L IS II USM

Hi Tony,I've sent you a PM.